I AM the Football Star

“In Eastern civilization, it seems crude and laughable for players to be absent without cause!”

“Lu Yang frequently invites his San Remo teammates for dinner!”

“It’s not just San Remo! Lu Yang has invited his national team teammates for dinner multiple times!”

“Naji: Lu Yang has invited all his teammates to visit China; he is always warm and hospitable!”

“Morici: When our family of more than thirty people went to China, Lu Yang arranged everything for eating, drinking, and having fun the whole time, so do you think this is Lu Yang apologizing and submitting to me?”

Italian media’s stance was naturally not agreed with by Spanish media.

But very quickly, no one expected Ortiz to voluntarily accept an interview with reporters outside of training to clarify the matter.

Ortiz: “That was clearly not an apology dinner, that was a form of Eastern etiquette.”

“There is absolutely no conflict between me and Lu Yang; we had a wonderful time chatting at the gathering.”

“Head Coach Gudiola was there, Mancini, Kahn, Canisell; so many teammates were present, how could there be talk of teammates not giving face and not attending?”

“Indeed, some players did not participate, but that was because they were overly tired from a long flight and rested early.”

“We have no issues with Lu Yang; he is an excellent player. When he comes to Barça to play, Barça will treat him with standard hospitality. Any player who comes to Barça is treated this way; there will be no exclusion, discrimination, or unfair treatment.”

“I hope this matter ends here, and I also hope everyone stops overanalyzing the relationship between Barça and Lu Yang.”

The last statement was clearly directed at those with ulterior motives.

Soon, Mebarak came to Ortiz’s room: “Hey, brother, what’s going on?”

Ortiz and Hernandez were in the same room; Hernandez was also present.

“Stop giving Lu Yang trouble; he’s not easy to deal with…” Ortiz, trying to counter Mebarak’s competitiveness, said, “He won’t stay long at Barça, so don’t let him disrupt our pace.”

“I know his high salary annoys you, but it’s the inevitable result of Moreira’s departure. You should have been prepared before doing this.”

“Moreover… Lu Yang’s achievements justify such a salary. He’s also betting with the team; given the stakes, the actual salary he can get is far less than what the media claims.”

“We don’t need to focus too much on him.”

“Treat him like Canisell, like Mancini, just an ordinary passerby player, okay?”

Mebarak frowned: “What happened to you, Ortiz? Have you been charmed by him? Have you forgotten what he said to the media? Have you forgotten how arrogant he treated our Barça?”

“Before him, Barça was strong; after him, he’s stronger than Barça!”

“Such a person must be taught a lesson; otherwise, everyone can disrespect Barça!”

“Is it really his arrogance?” Ortiz looked at Mebarak, “Have you seen his social media platform? Have you seen what our Barça fans say about him?”

“Did you see how Barça fans attacked him after his contract was exposed?”

“And, was he wrong?”

“Barça’s championship wins in the past three or four years are far fewer than his. The honors amassed by the entire Barça team couldn’t match the honors he’s won on his own!”

“These are facts!”

“We are a world-class club, but it was our predecessors who built this reputation!”

“We have won the Champions League, but it was Moreira who led us there. How many games did we play at that time?”

“We have no right to be arrogant, but the truly arrogant ones have always been us, not Lu Yang!”

“Mebarak, enough!”

“I know you aspire to be the future president of Barça, but now… I think we should truly focus on football!”

“You…” Mebarak got angry; he wanted to say something.

But Hernandez quickly reacted, hugged Mebarak, and dragged him outside the room to prevent further escalation of emotions on both sides.

Interestingly enough… Hernandez is 1.7 meters tall.

Mebarak is 1.92 meters tall.

It’s absurd that the former could drag the latter.

Ortiz shook his head.

Mebarak has always been so shrewd.

Everyone is a tool in his hands.

Whether it’s Mateo or his local support.

Perhaps letting Lu Yang come and stir things up for a couple of years is a good thing?